ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 4, 2014) – Abu Sayyaf gunmen have freed before dawn Monday one of two Muslim women they abducted in Patikul town in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said.
Marine Capt. Maria Rowena Muyuela, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, said Nursalyn Alih, 26, was released at Sitio Kantitap in the village of Danag, but the fate of her companion Shekinah Hope Hamsain is still unknown.
Both women were traveling on a motorcycle when three gunmen seized them on August 3 in the village of Kaunayan in Patikul. Two of the gunmen have been identified as Ramsid Sali and Injie.
Muyuela said marines brought Alih and her some members of her family to Camp Teodulfo Bautista Station Hospital for a routine medical examination.
It was unknown if ransom was paid by Alih’s family to the kidnappers in exchange for her safe release.
“Authorities have yet to confirm whether the family of the victim paid ransom money for her safe release. Military troops continue to conduct pursuit operations to locate the remaining kidnapped victim,” Muyuela said.
The Abu Sayyaf is still holding several kidnapped foreigners and Filipinos in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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